Leutnant d. R. Erwin Böhme

July 29, 1879 - November 29, 1917

The friend of Oswald Boelcke, and leader of Jasta Boelcke.

On October 28, 1916 Oswald Boelcke, the leader and father of Jasta 2, died in a tragical midair collision with his friend Erwin Böhme. Exactly one year, one month and one day later - November 29, 1917 -  it was Erwin Böhme who fell under the guns of an unknown opponent over Zonnebeke in Flanders, Belgium.

For six years already, Böhme had worked for an unknown German company in New-Hornow, East-Africa where that company possessed considerable wooden areas and plantations. He had constructed a cable railway, running from the Usambara railway up to New-Hornow in the Pare mountains. In the critical month of July, 1914, Erwin Böhme was on leave home in Germany. Being a passionate skier and mountain climber he was planning tours to the Alps as the war broke out. But instead of traveling to Switzerland he, the former member of the Potsdam guard regiment, did not hesitate to volunteer for the still young German Air Corps.

Despite his age - he was already 35 - he managed to be send to Döberitz from where he transferred to the airfield of Lindenthal near Leipzig to undergo his flying training. Although he was the oldest of all student pilots he still possessed a juvenile vigor combined with intrepid boldness and unshakeable tranquility. He was the first passing all of the three required tests to obtain his pilots license. But to his disappointment he had to stay in Leipzig for a whole year to work as a flight instructor before in December of 1915 he finally succeed to push his transfer to the front through. 

Since his youth already, Erwin Böhme was well trained in many sports. He was a superb ice skater and swimmer. At the occasion of a swimming contest on July 30, 1905 he won the "Championship across the lake Zürich" by swimming the distance of 3.0km (1.875miles) in a time of 52 min, 40 sec. Being also a superb alpinist he became the only foreign member of the selected Swiss Mountain Climber and Skier Guild during his three years in Switzerland.

From Switzerland he went to Africa. After his opinion, the mountains was high enough but the country was to narrow, hence he strived for a greater freedom. Being inspired by the letters of the Swiss Africa explorer Dr. David which Böhme had read at a friend, he decided to live a free life as an explorer and hunter on the African continent. He had already arranged with Dr. David to come to Africa as he received the message that the old explorer had died in March, 1908. Because his plan to join Dr. David in Africa was now unsuccessful he abruptly contacted a German society to enter their service. So he came to New-Hornow in German-East-Africa. But the way he took was not the usual way of the typical traveler of his time. To reach the ship to Africa, Böhme went all the way alone from Bern in Switzerland down to the port of Genoa in Italy. He choosed his own way across the mountains, walking across the "Rosstalsattel" to the top of the "Jungfrau", down to the "Wallis" then from "Zermatt" and again without a leader he climbed the "Matter Horn", bivouacked there in its rocks before he descended on the Italian side of the mountains down to Le Breuil. Across ice and rocks his path to the hot African continent started - the path of a man who walked his own way by his own force.

The cedar wood from New-Hornow was send to the Hubertus Mill in Germany, where it was processed and prepared for the pencil factories of Nürnberg. From this initial business contact, a friendship rose between Böhme and the directors family of the Hubertus Mill. Even as Böhme went to the war the contact between him and the family remained. 

On May 20, 1916, the silver wedding of the director and his wife was celebrated at the Hubertus Mill. In the afternoon there was a huge army aircraft coming from Berlin, circling over the Mill. Soon it attracted the attention of the party guests who came out of the house to watch the aircraft circling in the air. The pilot choosed a nearby meadow for landing but did not notice that the meadow was marshy, so the aircraft nosed over on landing. Three people climbed out of the slightly damaged ship: Erwin Böhme - who was on leave from the front where he had flown many barrage patrols over Verdun. His younger brother Martin who was also a pilot as well as his comrade Ludwig Weber who had flown the aircraft. The whole thing was meant to be a surprise for the silver wedding couple. Erwin Böhme knew of the silver wedding party indeed so he wanted to deliver his congratulations personally. The surprising guests was heartily welcomed. While the Böhme brothers stood until the other day, Weber flew the quickly repaired aircraft back to Döberitz on the same day.

from left to right: 1) a friend, Miss Krage, 2) Erika Brüning, 3) cousin Maria Brüning, 4) Martin Böhme, 5) Mr. Weber, 6) Director Heinrich Brüning, 7) Lt. Erwin Böhme, 8) Annamarie Brüning, 9) Hanna Wiese, secretary of Director Brüning, 10+11, two friends, 12) cousin Anni, 13) Hans-Heinrich Brüning, 14) T. Mile Lekning (?), 15) Elly Brüning, 16) Siegfried Brüning, 17)  a friend from Eberswald, Sophienhof, Mr. Georgy.

Annamarie Bruening

The crash-landing became of a significant importance for the rest of Böhmes life. In these days he met the oldest daughter of the silver wedding couple - Annamarie - for the very first time. Although he was on visit at the Hubertus Mill several times before, he had not met the girl yet. After returning to the front, a frequent correspondence arose between Erwin and Annamarie, ending with their official engagement in November of 1917. Most of the letters got published in the book "Briefe eines deutschen Kampffliegers an ein junges Mädchen" (Letters of a German Combat Pilot to a Young Girl) Leipzig 1930. Unfortunately Erwin Böhme did not live long enough to marry his big love Annamarie. In the afternoon of November 29, 1917 he started for the second flight of the day and soon scored his 24th victory over the pond of Zillebeke, near Ypern by shooting down a Sopwith Camel. Soon after this fight, he found himself encircled by members of the British No. 10 squadron as he attacked an Armstrong-Whitworth F.K.8 being on a photo-reconaissance mission. Over Zonnebeke, a deadly bullet then put an end to his life. Erwin Böhme got buried with full military honors at a cemetery near Keerselaarhoek but today nobody seems to know anything about his grave anymore.

Of the time of the engagement only one letter of the bride remained. It was the letter Böhme carried on his heart the day that he died. This letter was send back from England in the year of 1921. Also in the mail of November 29, 1916, Böhme received the news of the Pour-le-Mérite being awarded to him.Unfortunately he did not live to wear it for his bride. She would have been proud of him.

Mr. Robert Jackson, author of the book "Air War Flanders 1918" kindly send me the following quotation from his book to add to my page about Erwin Böhme:

Designed by Frederick Koolhoven, the Armstrong Whitworth F.K.8 - known as the 'Big Ack' by its crews - was used by Nos 2, 8, 10, 35 and 82 Squadrons on the Western Front at the beginning of 1918. Its 160 hp Beardmore engine gave it a top speed of around 90 mph and it carried an armament of one synchronized Vickers gun, operated by the pilot, and a Lewis gun in the rear cockpit. Although heavy on the controls, it was well built and robust, could absorb a lot of battle damage and was well liked by its¤crews. Major K.D.P. Murray, No 10 Squadron's commanding officer, said of it: "The big A-W was slow, but my pilots liked it for the particular job they had to do, and never regarded themselves as 'cold meat'. Owing to the nature of their work, they were rarely in a position to attack, but when attacked, as they were frequently enough, they gave a good enough account of themselves." Captain John Pattern of No 10 Squadron and his observer, Lt Leycester, definitely gave a good account of themselves in the course of a photographic sortie over the trenches on 29 November 1917. Pattern himself, shortly before his death - he was then in his nineties - told the story to the author. "I was due to go home on leave the following day, and when you had been warned for leave you weren't supposed to fly. But after several days of fog and rain the weather had finally cleared and there were reports of large enemy troop movements south of Passchendaele, so as the Squadron's most experienced pilot I was detailed to go out and get the photographs that were urgently needed. It wasn't that I was a particularly good pilot; it was just that most of the others who had been on the Squadron when I joined it six months earlier were dead. On average, a crew doing our sort of job, flying straight and level over the enemy lines, could expect to last three weeks before being shot down. Some of us, myself included, were lucky; I had been shot down only a week before in a scrap with five Albatros D.IIIs, and my observer and I had walked out of the wreck with only a few scratches. That was one of the good points about the big A-W; it was so strongly built that crews could often walk away from the most horrendous crashes." On that November morning, Pattern and Leycester - it was their seventh mission together - took off from Abeele and climbed to 5,000 feet, heading towards Ypres and the front line. Unknown to them, some thirty miles away another pilot was also taking off from an airfield near Lille. He was Leutnant Erwin Böhme,a Staffel commander in the Richthofen Jadgdgeschwader.

This was a big day in Böhme's life. In a few hours' time he was due to receive Germany's highest award for gallantry - the Ordre Pour le Merite, or 'Blue Max' as it was nicknamed - from the hands of the Kaiser himself. The medal was Bohme's reward for shooting down twenty-four British and French aircraft, but to him its significance was much greater. It would help to remove a burden of guilt he had carried for over a year, since October 1916. Together with his Staffel commander, Oswald Boelcke - the most famous German air ace of that time - he had been involved in ½a dogfight with some British aircraft. Böhme had made a slight error of judgement; his wingtip had touched Boelcke's and the ace's aircraft had gone down, breaking up as it fell. Boelcke had been killed instantly. Desolate, Böhme had gone to his tent on landing and taken out his revolver, intent on committing suicide, but had been prevented by von Richthofen. Now, in November 1917, Böhme commanded Boelcke's old unit, Jagdstaffel 2.

Böhme headed for the front line, accompanied by five more Albatros Scouts, intent on claiming one more victim before he received his decoration. The victim should have been John Pattern, whose F.K.8 was crossing the front line just north of Westhoek. Pattern takes up the story: "About a quarter of a mile on the enemy side of the lines, I turned south-east and Leycester started to work his camera. The anti-aircraft fire, which had been intense, had not stopped, but I didn't take much notice. I should have known better; it was a sure sign that enemy fighters were in the vicinity. Suddenly, I heard the clatter of Leycester's machine gun above the roar of the engine. I looked round to see what he was shooting at, and nearly had a heart attack. Slanting down from above, getting nicely into position thirty yards behind my tail, was an Albatros. "I immediately heaved the old A-W round in a split-arse turn, tighter I think than I had ever turned before. I felt a flash of panic as I lost sight of the Hun, but Leycester must have been able to see him all right as he kept on firing. My sudden turn had done the trick. The Albatros overshot and suddenly appeared right in front of me. Because of the relative motion of our two aircraft, he seemed to hang motionless, suspended in mid-air. I could see the pilot's face as he looked back at me. I sent a two-second burst of Vickers fire into him. His aircraft seemed to flutter, then slid out of sight below my starboard wing. I was pretty certain that I had hit his petrol tank. Behind me, Leycester was still blazing away. He was using tracer, and it may have been one of his bullets that ignited the petrol pouring from the Hun's ruptured tank. When I caught sight of the Albatros again, it was burning like a torch and side-slipping towards the ground, trailing a streamer of smoke. For an instant I saw the German pilot, looking down over the side of the cockpit. Then the smoke and flames enveloped him. I pushed the A-W's nose down and headed flat out for home, aware that the other Hun scouts were coming down after me. They would probably have got me, too, if some friendly fighters had not come along just in time and driven them away. To say that I was relieved would be the understatement of the century."

Captain John Pattern's logbook entry regarding Erwin Böhme is listed in line 15, marked green..

The information about the life of Erwin Böhme had been translated from the book "Briefe eines deutschen Kampffliegers an ein junges Mädchen" by Prof. Johannes Werner, Leipzig 1930. Maybe to protect the family of Annamarie from the public, no last name was mentioned except but for the inital letter "B", nor was there any details provided about the home of Annamarie, the Hubertus Mill. Therefore I would gladly appreciate it if you could provide me an answer to the following questions:

1) What was the complete last name of Annamarie which started with a B ?
2) Where was the exact location of the Hubertus Mill?
3) What happened to Böhmes grave after WW1?
4) Did his family maybe transfer his body back to Germany?
5) Who was the pilot shooting Böhme down?

Thanks to Mr. Aaron Weaver, the question #1 could finally be answered. He kindly send me a photo of Miss Annamarie Bruening which I added to this page.

Thanks to Mr. Robert Jackson, question #5 could finally be answered. His book "Air War Flanders 1918" had been published by Airlife in 1998. Unfortunately the publisher doesn't exist anymore and the book is out of print but maybe you can still find a used copy at www.zvab.com. 

Follow this link www.koolhoven.com if you want to read more about Fredrick Koolhoven, the developer of the Armstrong Whitworth F.K.8. It's a very interesting website - highly recommendable!